Whack goes the RULERS

Dr. Barbara Kannapell recirculated her pow pow “let my people go” letter (click link to see the letter) to AG Bell Association from 2011 and Roger Claussen left an important testimony in the comment section so i asked him if i could post it as a blog post here and he said yes. Thank youRoger

And just so you all know this is not all ancient history because:

it was not THAT long ago and

it is STILL happening.

I #hit you not. i met a young man a couple of years ago who said that one day a speech pathologist got frustrated with him because he was not pronouncing a word correctly and she grabbed a YARD STICK (not even a ruler but a YARD STICK) and whacked him in the mouth. He yelled out in pain – another teacher heard him and came to check if all was alright and the LSL specialist said everything was F I N E.

This happened just a couple of years ago to a Asian Deaf young man with cochlear implants in the US of A.

He then went home and told his parents and said he was going MUTE. He would NOT try to speak for anyone because it invited abuse. They accepted because he was a junior in HS and that is when young Deaf folks tend to start to assert their somebodiness and parents cant claim parental choice and cuz rulers and yard sticks are for measuring – not for metering out punishment and cuz that #hit aint cool.

If this chap had not shared his story with me – i might have been less inclined to believe Roger Claussen – yet despite already having been RECENTLY introduced to this “method” of the jealous mistress – Oral aural onlyism – i still felt shock and outrage at reading Roger’s story below.

This is REAL folks. dont even try to tell me its a thing of the past because:

it aint

even if it was – we need to get this stuff out to the public because the more i learn the more i am applaud and

Barbara – Great comment! To: AGB believers, I grew up as a deaf child attending Arizona School for the Deaf in Tucson. My parents were not deaf and did not use sign language at all at home.

In the classroom, we were forced to be oral. My teacher(s) often used a ruler to “whack” my lips if I didn’t pronounce it right. I would think I said the word well. But then my lips would get whack. I hated trying to use my voice , hated speech. For example: the teacher repeatedly had me to say word “baseball” for many days and I still failed. Why weren’t the teacher(s) focusing on the more important subjects such as English, Math, Reading, etc.

At lunch time I would often sit with the high school students in the cafeteria. I had easy / free communication with them using ASL and learned from them. As many young deaf back then and even today being around peers and in a social setting/ environment increased my language and signing skills. For me at that time more so than in the classroom.

When I entered middle school, I was thrilled to see teachers using ASL. However, later my family moved to San Diego. I had to attend a local oral school and forced to use bulky hearing aids. I met about 15 deaf students in the classroom. The students knew practically nothing about sign language and were very behind in most all subjects. I was also shocked to see students aged between 12 to 20 years old in the same classroom.

That teacher taught us to SING with our voices and we would practice the same song for months and then put us in assembly for hearing students to hear our voices. Unbelievable!!!! We were mocked by them. At the end of the school year I told my friends “This coming fall I will transfer to California School for the Deaf in Riverside (CSDR)”. My teacher took me to a private room and talked with me using sign language. I was shocked he could sign and he told me he was glad that I am going to CSDR where I can get better education. Then he told me that if he used sign language in classroom and he will lose his job. It was clear to me that deaf students and teacher were oppressed.

Two years later 7 of my former classmates transferred to CSDR. It was obvious they were starved for communication by using ASL and a better education and socialization.

To AGB believers: Allow the deaf children to be themselves! You have a responsibility to share the truth and the facts to parents, who often get high or false hopes that their deaf child/children are better off in oral schools than schools for the deaf which use bilingual (ASL/English). Let’s work together for the betterment of our deaf children and their future.

Video by Shawn Efrink – Making the invisible VISIBLE – you can’t do Oralism without abuse (Shawn stands in front of a building that houses the new location for the St. Joseph institute of which Shawn is a survivor of and of which promotes Oral Aural OnlyISM – ie LSL – Listening and Spoken Language)

another short video by Shawn Efrink- calling on us to “Break the Rules”(Shawn stands in front of a building that houses the new location for the St. Joseph institute of which Shawn is a survivor of and of which promotes Oral Aural OnlyISM – ie LSL – Listening and Spoken Language)

Nyle dancing sweeping Mabel Bell off her feet in front of the Volta Bureau – digital art by Shawn Elfrink

Why Nyle DiMarco is the jewel of the Nile in my eyes:
1. not cuz he dances so pretty but rather cuz he dances the truth – he dances about the oppression of Deaf folks via the jealous mistress – oralism = the banning of sign language and the systematic push for Deaf folks value to be measured by their mouths and their ears

2. not cuz he is so hot & will probably be picked by People Magazine to be the Sexiest Man of the Year – i really ain’t a fan of lookism (look it up – its a real word) but rather because he proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that speech and audition – ie talking and hearing are not the great equalizer or liberator

3. not cuz he is all over the internet and popular culture – i aint really big on popular culture but rather because he uses his popularity and celebrity status for the GREATER Good. he has uttered words that most of our “leaders” barely mention – he has talked about the harms of Oralism – banning Sign language from the lives of Deaf children. he has talked about Language Deprivation. he has talked about the beloved Deaf community. He has not made this moment be ABOUT him but rather about JUSTICE – that is huge

4. not cuz he is gonna make everything all better for Deaf folks cuz he is not – no single person could or should do that but rather because he is not afraid to take a stand for that which is just right and good. too many Deaf folks think they must – talk pretty, walk pretty, get flies with honey, sell out, etc etc to eventually some day feel safe enough to stand for the truth but Nyle did not wait. he did not minimize what it is like to be a Deaf person amongst all Hearing contestants on ANTM – he called it what it was “language deprivation” – he suffered through it for the goal of winning and visibility. he did not just make dances that were inspiration pornish – he made a dance that was Pow Pow truth telling. he has the courage of his convictions and acts on them

so what i hope for Nyle and all of us is:
1. keep that courage a rolling. keep singing those songs of freedom

2. keep experimenting with creative and artistic ways to express the Deaf experience both resistance of oppression and affirmation of all that is good about being DEAF

3. keep destigmatizing what it means to be Deaf and celebrating Deafhood

4. keep pulling down the mask of AG Bell Association and all the various corporations and systems that promote the biggest LIE OF THEM ALL – the lie that a person must hear and speak to function in society, and that a person’s intelligence is measured by their ability to speak, and that hearing sets you free, and that normalcy is all the rage

and now a wish – a deep and heart felt wish that Nyle’s spirit does not get adversely affected by fame. Fame is a horrible beast and not anything i would wish upon anyone. it can mess with the mind worse than any addiction or malady i have ever seen. My wish is that it does not taint or destroy Nyle’s spirit. My wish is he will always remain grounded via his family, bestests, and beloved community and that he will continue to give back and not give in.

and for us – my wish is – we do not sit back and expect him to be all and do all. We all got work to do. Creating, Caring, Challenging, and Celebrating. On ward march. its a love reEVOLution

3. Statue of George
Amy Cohen Efron is calling for a statue of good ole Geo. signing DEFEND to grace the Deafspace of the Soreson building at Gallaudet. I second this motion of such a marvelous notion. And PLEASE when this becomes a reality – hire a D E A F sculptor. George W. Veditz would want that.

4. investing in New Zealand Sign Language
Wow weee – aint it sweet when a nation invests in Natural Sign Language for Deaf children – New Zealand is investing $11 MILLION dollars in New Zealand Sign Language for the kiddies – ohhh gosh one of the best elixir for language deprivation

5. AG Bell Assoc. monologue vs dialogue
no news of AG Bell Association President Sugar being true to her words of wanting a dialogue by accepting the Gallaudet students’ invitation to campus. Come on AG Bell and Co. schools gonna be out soon and you will have missed the opportunity and your bs will be busted and folks are gonna remember come Fall. so do the right thing and pay them a visit for a nice heart to heart or keep spinning your web of deceit only to be out shined by a bunch of rocking bilingual college students. The option & choice is yours.

6. Language Deprivation is part of ACE – Adverse Childhood Experiences
When is language deprivation and the denial of ASL and Deaf culture in the lives of Deaf children going to be recognized as a form of ACE = Adverse Childhood Experiences?????